QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
March 3, 2022
Good afternoon, minister, and welcome to the Senate.
My question relates to Bill S-5, the changes to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, that was introduced in the Senate this week.
The 2021 Liberal election platform pledged to phase out toxicity testing on animals by 2035. However, Bill S-5 only mentions reducing animal testing in its preamble.
I understand that this is a practice which is used on close to 100,000 animals per year. Is the government open to strengthening the bill on this subject?
Thank you, senator. As a legislator, I’m always open to making my bills better, and I would invite you or any member of the Senate to come forward with proposals to improve and strengthen the bill as it moves forward.
I should also say that this is the first part of modernization that we want to do with the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. There are other elements that we want to bring forward at a later date. We thought there are so many changes that need to happen, we couldn’t do them all at once. This is the first stage, but I welcome your proposals to improve the bill, senator.
